Unto the Night
by HewwieSama
Summary: Almost a century has passed since the last attempt to resurrect Count Dracula was foiled by a Belmont, but with that time growing near once again, will one of them instead try to aid the process? (Rating subject to change as more chapters are posted).
1. Harsh Beginnings

_Five hundred years._

And yet, neither the pain nor the thirst had given into even the slightest hint of subsiding.

Throughout his dreary and lonely life amongst the shadows, he had never fathomed the possibility of being able to survive normally amongst those who had condemned him. His fate had been sealed the moment that he was brought into this world, and it would forever remain that his existence be nothing more than a burden to society. Shunned by those whom he loved and despised by all others, he would never have the opportunity to live the way he wanted to.

Had the decision have been his, he never would have been a Belmont.

  
"Alester! Watch what you're doing!"

The warning was more than enough to pull him back to his senses, although it came a little too late to be of any real help. By the time the words had reached him, the winged-demon had already begun its descent back toward the earth, and it was purely intent on having this lunge be both its first and its last.

Although he wasn't nearly as alert as he should have been, the vampire hunter still had enough time left to quickly throw his body out of the creature's path. Through the few droplets of sweat that had been cast into the night air from his quick movement, he could easily see the detail of the monstrosity he was up against; several images of fiery-red eyes pierced through the many reflections, reaffirming the fact that this situation was not to be taken lightly. 

One glance in the wrong direction. That's all it would take to lose his life.

"Come on, what do you take me for? Some kind of idiot?" The tone in Alester's voice told his younger brother that he had control of the situation, even though it didn't appear that way to him. The young boy knew this creature would be a quick slay for the experienced hunter, but something had been bothering him lately - why had his brother suddenly become so obsessed with tracking down and eliminating all of these creatures of the night? He'd always known Alester to be a very dedicated person, but never had he seen him hunt with such ferocity; there had to be more to this change than met the eye, yet he couldn't seem to grasp it...

Richter's inquiries were quickly put to rest, however, as the familiar sound of Alester's whip found its target, one final sickening howl cutting through the night before an eerie silence slowly drifted back over the calm waters of the lake.

"Hmm... what number does that make? It's somewhere in the seventies, isn't it?" Alester allowed for a faint grin to settle upon his lips as he lowered his gaze toward his latest triumph: the last remaining Half-Demon in all of Transylvania. It was almost a pity, because if he kept up this pace much longer, there would be no evil left to purge, and then he'd be out of a job.

"How much do you think this one will bring? We should be able to get at least thirty more pieces of gold out of the townsfolk, seeing as how this beau't was a bit larger than the one they described to us." The air had already begun to take on the rancid smell of rotting flesh, even though the creature had been dead for no longer than a minute at the most.

"That's all you think about anymore, isn't it? You're a Belmont, Alester." Richter, never being one for the sight of blood, quickly turned his head at the sight of the creature's mangled and torn body, the image having already been seared into his mind. "We're not in this for the money; our bloodline is the only hope these people... no, the world has against this darkness, and here you are wondering about how much profit you'll gain from killing these beasts? You're no better than He was."

A quick and sudden snare transformed Alester's expression to one of pure hatred, a look that Richter had become all too familiar with over the past few days. He knew he shouldn't have pushed the subject so far, but he was just too upset with his brother's attitude toward the situation to back down now. He was intent on discovering just what happened to the same man who he had once been proud to share the Belmont family name...


	2. The Quiet Before the Storm

"All stories teach and promise us something, whether they're true or invented, legend or fact." 

The pale and rather haunting glow of the morning sun, partially hidden by the grayish clouds crossing slowly among the horizon, only helped to accent the dreary and almost ghoulish appearance of the valley as Richter closed the book he'd been reading, completing his studies for the day in doing so. He'd often come to this place to have time to himself; it was nothing more than a single tree perched atop a silent hill, overlooking the village below as if it were protecting it from some yet unannounced evil. As of late, the young Belmont had been spending more and more of his days here, doing nothing more than reflecting on the change in both his brother's appearance and character. During the previous night, Richter had seen Alester fight more ferociously than ever before, yet what was his reasoning behind this sudden violence? It is true that it takes much anger to harness the skill needed to down the foul creatures of the night, but why this much? Richter knew his brother took too much pride in killing the beasts. This act was not supposed to be something one could take joy from, but yet, he could see the lustful look in Alester's eyes each time he cracked his whip, the sound of a dying demon only fueling his constant desire for more of the cursed bloodshed.

Standing from his place underneath the aging tree, Richter gently tucked the book he'd been reading underneath his left arm, allowing his free hand to instinctively fall to his side, tracing his fingertips lightly about the whip that rested upon his belt. Although daylight was upon him, there were still those few creatures that had learned to shield themselves from the holy light of day, making them even more difficult to send them back to whence they came. Richter simply shook off the thoughts of an early-morning confrontation, however, as his mind was still pondering over the odd turn of events that had been brought to his attention during the course of the past week. Making his way slowly along the long-worn and little-known trail he had become so used to, he tried to make sense of the change in events that had caused his brother's life to come to ruin.

  
_"You! It was your fault! The demon wouldn't have come, had you not have been so eager to kill it!"_

_"You're just like they are! You're thirsty for the same thing... blood!"_

_The tainted odor of freshly spilled blood was still lingering in the air as the insults continued to haunt him, his thoughts becoming poisoned and his heart growing dark as he turned his gaze toward the night sky..._

  
Had it really been six years since the incident at Viemer? Richter had told himself time and time again that it must have been that night, the very night he first witnessed the horrible work of the demons firsthand, that his brother had succumbed to the darkness. The life of a Belmont bore certain duties that had been passed down among the generations for centuries, duties that gave no mercy to the poor soul who was unfortunate enough to have the obligation of seeing them through. Surely, this was the cause of Alester's madness; being a Vampire Hunter had become too much for him to bear, thus he was fighting as hard as he possibly could to relieve himself of the pain and anguish that came along with the title. Yes, that had to be his reasoning.

While keeping himself to his thoughts, Richter had not managed to take notice of the fact that he was not alone during this morning walk; there was someone very unexpected traveling along the footpath in the opposite direction, looking a bit too pleasant to blend in with the gloomy surroundings of the Transylvanian countryside.

"Richter! Richter Belmont!"

A familiar and quite cheerful voice echoed along the path as Richter continued his journey back toward his home, causing him to stop quickly in mid-stride along the trail.

"How many times have I told her this is no place for conversation?" The Vampire Hunter could do nothing more than shake his head in annoyance as he glanced further down the beaten path, his gaze quickly focusing in on the joyful youth skipping across the ground below, her innocent and lighthearted appearance bringing a tender smile to Richter's lips.

"Oh, I found you! Your father asked me to come and fetch you, seeing as how it's nearly time for your morning lessons!" The girl's tender attitude made her seem very awkward, contrasting against the surroundings as much as day differs from night. "You should really hurry home, you know. Your father wouldn't stand for a sudden slacking in your education!" A slight giggle faded among the silence of the morning air as the youth came to a stop directly in front of Richter, her head moving just a bit to the side as she placed the tip of her index finger lightly against his nose.

"Well, Alaina, what are you going to tell Father when he finds out that I've already completed two days-worth of my studies in one morning's time?" Richter's lips curled into an even softer smile, his eyes crossing almost playfully as he tried to turn his gaze down toward the girl's finger without giving too much effort.

"I'm sure he'll be more than pleased, because Alester must be doing the same; his bed was neatly made and his room clean when your father checked in this morning, so he sent me to make sure you were following in your brother's footsteps." Finally, without much hesitation, Alaina removed her finger from Richter's face, quickly turning about and starting back down the path from the direction she had just come from, a slight skip still present in her movement.

Follow in his brother's footsteps? Richter swore that he would never allow himself to do anything of the sort six years ago, and he intended to keep that promise. Yet, why was his brother not in bed at this time of the morning? He never was one for getting up before daybreak.

If only Richter knew that today would not be the usual day he'd come to know.

  
Straying away from Richter's hopeful wishes, fate had already taken the first step; on this day, evil will rise, and darkness will fall.


End file.
